On May 3, 1974 at the Scandlon Gymnasium on the campus of King's College in Wilkes-Barre there was a good spring concert- Mott the Hoople was the headline act and opening for them was this somewhat up and coming band that was introduced at the show as "The Queen." Well, they dropped "The" from their name and the rest is history. Urban legend has it that Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor walked from the Scandlon Gym down to Public Square (A bit of a stroll if you are familiar with W-B) then, went in a few stores on Public Square. They walked back to the gym and absolutely no one recognized them! Had they tried this same walk two or three years later they likely would've been mobbed! Was anyone here at that show? Thanks...
OT; Fifty years ago today...
- Thread starter WSTLion87
- Start date
This is why the rick doesn’t see bands in arenas cause this story is full of magic
Same tour a day or two earlier or later they opened for Mott at the Ag Arena at the Allentown Fairgrounds we were in 11th grade and had a van full of 11th and 12th graders from Wilson High School in West Lawn at the show.
Ag arena was a low ceiling dump used for showcasing cows, sheep and other animals. Quualudes rules the day, vomit was anll over the place and there were massive numbers of people passed out everywhere. Great scene! No Cops!
Anyway, Queen comes out and rips through their first album with the highlight being Keep yourself Alive. Great set, they rocked.
Out came Mott, a little miffed quite frankly, but they delivered as well. Fun night, got in at 3 am, didn’t crash the van or kill anyone, and I think everyone I drove made it to school the next day.
Thanks for the memory .
Ag arena was a low ceiling dump used for showcasing cows, sheep and other animals. Quualudes rules the day, vomit was anll over the place and there were massive numbers of people passed out everywhere. Great scene! No Cops!
Anyway, Queen comes out and rips through their first album with the highlight being Keep yourself Alive. Great set, they rocked.
Out came Mott, a little miffed quite frankly, but they delivered as well. Fun night, got in at 3 am, didn’t crash the van or kill anyone, and I think everyone I drove made it to school the next day.
Thanks for the memory .
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My future wife was at that concert. She was a Senior at Bethlehem Catholic. I read the post about King’s College to my wife. She said she saw them at Ag Hall. I then read your post and, BOOM!, here we are.
Based on the ad, they were just “Queen”.
Weren’t you at the Mann Center for Arctic Monkeys? (14,000)
Prior to 1968 when the new Scandlon Gym was built, Kings built a football field and BB Gym along Wyoming Ave. (RT. 11) in Kingston, PA. the gym was also utilized by Kingston High School & Edwardsville HS played there frequently. I attended many BB games at the old Scandlon Field.
I mapped what I believe (remember) the location of the field before the expressway was constructed over Wyoming Ave.
- "Jan. 1947: Father Scandlon and Father Connerton obtain war surplus furniture, equipment, and textbooks for student use and secure government funding to build a gymnasium at Vaughn's Corners in Kingston and a student union on a former parking lot."
- "Dec. 1968: The brand new, $2.2 million ($17.9 mil in 2022) gymnasium on North Main Street is dedicated as Scandlon Gymnasium. It features a competitive swimming pool, rifle range, hand-ball courts, and seating for 3,600 spectators. Two days after the dedication, the basketball team faced off against Notre Dame in a special inaugural game."
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My younger daughter graduated from The McGowan School of Business at Kings College. BS in Accounting. Two cousins also graduated from King’s McGowan. All have done very well.